What You Need to Know Before Seeing the David Foster Wallace Biopic

The David Foster Wallace biopic, The End of the Tour, finally arrives in theaters next week. The film follows a five-day interview between Rolling Stone reporter David Lipsky (Jesse Eisenberg) and Wallace (Jason Segel) during a 1996 promotional tour for Wallace’s newly published tome, Infinite Jest. Since production began in 2014, the James Ponsoldt–directed film has faced opposition from the late writer’s estate. “The David Foster Wallace Literary Trust, David's family, and David's longtime publisher Little, Brown and Company wish to make it clear that they have no connection with, and neither endorse nor support The End of the Tour,” reads one statement. Here, a brief breakdown of the estate’s protest.

The Background

In 1996, David Lipsky, a Rolling Stone reporter, was given an assignment to follow author David Foster Wallace, who had newly achieved literary celebrity with the publication of Infinite Jest. After Lipsky followed the author for five days on his book tour, Rolling Stone did not publish the story. After Wallace committed suicide in 2008, Lipsky folded the story into his book, Although of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself, which was published in 2010. In February of 2014, it was announced that Sony Pictures had acquired the rights to the adaptation of Lipsky’s book, The End of the Tour.

Advertisement

The Grievance

Two months after the rights were secured, Wallace’s estate publicly denounced the film, writing, “[Lipsky’s] article was never published and David would never have agreed that those saved transcripts could later be repurposed as the basis of a movie.” The statement went on to say that the trust was given no advanced notice of the film’s production, and that those involved with the film were made aware of the estate’s stance, “yet persisted in capitalizing upon a situation that leaves those closest to David unable to prevent the production.” The statement concluded: “For the avoidance of doubt, there is no circumstance under which the David Foster Wallace Literary Trust would have consented to the adaptation of this interview into a motion picture, and we do not consider it an homage.”

The Takeaway

Though the David Foster Wallace Literary Trust is not known to have filed a legal suit against The End of the Tour, the dispute has raised questions in literary circles. While anti-defamation laws don’t extend to the deceased, Wallace’s estate owns the rights to the author’s work, which could arguably extend to the taped interview Wallace gave to Lipsky back in 1996. (Taped interviews are a legal gray area.) But it’s in the court of public opinion that the David Foster Wallace Literary Trust has taken action. The verdict? We’ll know next week.